1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for reading barcodes and a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Barcode reading apparatuses are known, for reading barcodes indicated on a commodity. Some barcode reading apparatus maintains its scanner for reading barcodes in a standby state to prevent power from being uselessly consumed.
For instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei06-20086 discloses a barcode reading apparatus which maintains its decoder and lighting unit in a non-operation mode or in a low-level outputting mode during a time period from a time when a user operates a starting switch for starting a reading operation to a time when the barcode reading apparatus touches barcodes. The barcode reading apparatus brings the decoder and lighting unit to an operation mode at a time when the barcode reading apparatus is brought to touch the barcodes.
The above barcode reading apparatus brings the decoder and lighting unit to the operation mode, when the barcode reading apparatus touches the barcodes after the user operates the starting switch. Therefore, in the barcode reading apparatus, power consumption can be reduced but it will take a long time before the reading operation starts.